Many boats and other watercraft are equipped with two or more propulsion units for use under different circumstances. Commonly small outboard engines, e.g. below 30 horsepower, are used for trolling and are controlled by a user positioned adjacent to the outboard engine while the engine is running. The user steers the watercraft by using a tiller arm, which is attached to the engine, to pivot the engine about a generally vertical steering axis. A number of operations may be controlled by the user, such as starting and stopping the engine, throttle, tilt, trim, and shifting between forward, neutral, and reverse. In some common situations of boating, the water level is much lower, e.g. two or more feet lower, than the main deck of the watercraft which makes operation of a small outboard engine using a traditional tiller arm inconvenient and in many situations unsafe. For example, on many high-rail boats a small outboard engine affixes to a motor mount on the lower transom and, resultantly, the tiller arm is poorly positioned at or below the plane created by the main deck of the vessel. In these situations, to steer the watercraft using the tiller arm the user either leans over the rail, reaches through the rail from a crouched position, or even stands on the rear platform at the transom while the engine is running.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,456 to Jaszewski et al., dated Mar. 5, 2002, and fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses a marine propulsion unit apparatus wherein an outboard engine is mounted to a watercraft at the driveshaft and is allowed to pivot about a steering axis. The steering handle is adjustable within a range of travel and the entire marine apparatus can be raised or lowered to accommodate different types of marine vessels. Because outboard motor shaft lengths are standardized to fit predetermined transoms, raising or lowering the entire motor, in many situations, is an improper solution for optimizing tiller arm position. Lowering the motor from optimal propeller position will create unnecessary drag impairing performance and fuel economy. Raising the motor from the optimal propeller position may cause ventilation and/or cavitation, and may remove water intake ports from the water causing the engine to overheat. Therefore, an apparatus enabling a tiller arm to be remotely mounted non-adjacent to an outboard motor that is positioned for optimal performance is desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,974 to Griffin, Jr. et al., dated Sep. 10, 1991, and fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses an ancillary tiller for a steerable outboard motor. The ancillary tiller provides a first shorter arm releasable interconnectable by mounting structure at its first end to an outboard motor and movably interconnecting by articulating linkage at its second end a second longer elongated arm. The ancillary tiller is particularly adapted for steerage of small fishing boats powered by outboard motors. However, the ancillary tiller is flawed in some applications, including medium-rail and high-rail watercraft, because a user must still reach over the stern railing to operate the ancillary tiller. The ancillary tiller is further flawed in the efficiency in which it can be packaged or installed onto a marine vessel because it requires a large space to accommodate the sweeping path of the second longer arm. Therefore, an apparatus enabling a tiller arm to be remotely mounted non-adjacent to an outboard motor that is positioned for optimal performance and with highly flexible and efficient packaging possibilities is desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,242 to Johnson, dated Jan. 18, 1994, and fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses a remote control tiller arm for controlling an outboard motor comprising an inverted U-shaped steering boom. The steering boom is attached to the outboard motor on one end and extends upward and over the motor boat operator allowing the operator to steer the boat from a forward looking position. This configuration for a remote tiller is flawed in that: the sweeping path of the tiller arm is very long due to the arm being a rigid extension from the motor; the efficiency of the packaging is poor because the sweeping path must remain clear; and the apparatus requires users to become accustomed to an unfamiliar method of controlling a watercraft. Therefore, a remotely mounted tiller arm with highly flexible and efficient packaging and which allows a user to steer a motor in an already learned and natural feeling way is desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,011 to Atland et al., dated Oct. 31, 2006, and fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses a remote control tiller system adapted to steer an outboard motor when a handheld remote control transmitter unit is selectively powered. A receiver then controls a drive unit including a motor-drive gear that applies leverage to a tiller attached to the motor. The remote control tiller discloses in the Atland patent, however, is both costly and complex. Moreover, the handheld remote control transmitter can easily be misplaced or even dropped overboard, and it is completely reliant on an electrical power source that will inevitably lose charge. Therefore, a simple remotely mounted tiller arm which is purely mechanical in construction and also stationary in location once installed is desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,413,126 to Johnson, dated Jul. 2, 2002, and fully incorporated by reference herein, discloses a steering mechanism for a jet boat for side-to-side steering of a trolling motor via a steering wheel located at a pilot seat. The steering mechanism comprises a primary coupling between the steering wheel and a steering nozzle at the jet boat stern. The steering mechanism further comprises a secondary coupling between the steering nozzle and the trolling motor such that the trolling motor pivots about a steering axis corresponding to the side-to-side steering of the steering nozzle controlled by the steering wheel located at the pilot seat. However, because this steering mechanism enslaves the trolling motor to the steering nozzle the system is ill-suited for an operator to steer the trolling motor from a location other than the cockpit. Moreover, this mechanism does not enable an operator to control any functions other than steering, e.g. throttle, gear selection, starting and/or killing the motor, from a location nonadjacent to the motor. Therefore, a remotely mounted tiller arm which is mechanically independent from the any other steering system and also incorporates numerous motor functions such that the motor can be entirely operated from a remote location is desirable.
For safety reasons, it is highly desirable for an operator to be capable of controlling the outboard motor from a position non-adjacent to the outboard motor; however, traditional steering wheel assemblies are: cost prohibitive; designed to be mounted in the cockpit of the vessel; and not easily installed by the novice marine enthusiast. Moreover, each of the various attempts at improving the available methods and products of controlling an outboard motor from a location non-adjacent to the outboard motor suffer from any or all of: impairing motor performance and/or fuel efficiency, being incapable of mounting non-adjacent to the motor, inflexible or inefficient packaging options, requiring a large sweep path for an extended tiller arm to swing through, being non-stationary, being reliant on an electronic power source, or requiring to be coupled with a steering wheel. Thus, many marine vessel operators resort to controlling outboard motors while standing on the rear platform aft of the main deck, thus exposing themselves to a heightened risk of falling or being swept overboard. This safety risk is exacerbated by the possibility that the outboard motor will continue to propel the boat away from the location that an operator went overboard and, consequently, leaving that operator stranded. Moreover, the most common application for a small outboard motor other than the vessels main propulsion unit, a.k.a. “kicker motor,” is to propel the vessel at an optimal speed for trolling for fish. As used herein, “kicker motor,” means any auxiliary outboard motor on a motorboat or sailboat, usually used for low speed operation (such as fishing), or as a backup for the primary means of propulsion. Controlling the motor from the cockpit is undesirable because that would require the operator to leave the fishing equipment unattended each time a small steering correction is needed. Also, the typical cockpit already has a steering wheel centered in the dash leaving no additional space for a steering wheel dedicated to a kicker motor. Finally, many operators are accustomed to controlling a kicker motor through a tiller arm mounted to a motor directly behind them while looking forward and, therefore, enabling an operator to control the motor from a remote location in an identical manner is desirable.
Accordingly, this application discloses a remote mounted motor command input device for marine vessels that enables a boat operator to control a motor through the use of a tiller arm remotely mounted at a location non-adjacent to the motor. The remote mounted motor command input device disclosed is: economical, capable of being mounted non-adjacent to the motor and also outside the cockpit of the vessel, easily installed by the novice marine enthusiast, highly flexible and efficient in possible packaging solutions, and is purely mechanical such that no electronic power source is required. Other benefits of the remote mounted motor command input device will become apparent throughout this disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,921 to Teraura et al., dated Jul. 30, 1985, is hereby fully incorporated by reference herein.